At first, Nabha proposed a 1320 MW (2x660 MW) plant, but received an environmental clearance (EC) from the MoEF dated November 15, 2010 to construct instead 1400 MW (2x700 MW);[3] the EC received an extension in 2014.[4]

In 2011 the plant was under construction at the village of Nalash near Rajpura in Patiala district, Punjab.[5]

Nabha Power has also signed a MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the Punjab government to expand the plant with an additional 700 MW to a total of 2100 MW. It received a terms of reference toward this expansion in 2011.[6]

Unit 1 was commissioned on December 8, 2013, and Unit 2 had a planned commissioning date of March 2014.[7]

In February 2014 Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) said it was likely to sell the 1,400 megawatt (MW) thermal power plant once it became fully operational, as part of a plan to divest assets not central to its main businesses. One analyst estimated that the sale may fetch L&T as much as 27% less than the amount invested on the project.[7]

Citizen opposition

In August 2008, it was reported that hundreds of farmers protested "acquisition of 1078.16 acres of land by the Punjab government for setting up a super thermal power plant near Nalash village." The protesters demanded higher compensation per acre for their land.[8]

In January 2011, unemployed villagers living near the Rajpura plant, many of whom were former farmers, conducted a dharna (peaceful protest or demonstration) outside the plant. Rajinder Singh, a local, said the government "forcefully purchased our land at a very low price”. Others claimed the government "promised to employ maximum number of people from surrounding villages", only to hire 100 people from local villages and bring in other workers from out of state. The government bought 1,078 acres of fertile land from area villagers to construct the plant, and farmers remain unemployed more than a year after construction started. Another local said “the government had made tall claims of project making our lives better, whereas we have become redundant without any sound livelihood”. Nabha Power Limited has said it will hire more people from surrounding villages.[9]